Constipation.
For the immediate relief of this, aperients are required. Castor Oil (83) and Senna (336) are best adapted for children and delicate females; Aloes (18, 19) for women suffering from irregularity or suspension of the menstrual discharge; Myrobalans (256) and Kaladana (187) for otherwise healthy adults; and Croton Pills (120) or Croton Oil (121) when strong and speedy purgation is indicated. The Constipation of Hysterical Females is best treated by Aloes and Asafœtida Pills (19); Habitual Constipation, by Aloes, as directed in Paragraph 20, or by Sulphur (344); that of Children by Fish Liver Oil (139), together with the use of oatmeal as an article of diet. A remedy for habitual constipation in children, as well as in adults, is to be sought for in tonics rather than in purgatives; the repeated use of the latter lays the foundation of great subsequent mischief. N.B.—The practice of native ayahs (female servants) of inserting a piece of tobacco stem into the anus of young children to relieve constipation, cannot be too strongly reprobated.
Consumption, Pulmonary (Phthisis).
The persevering use of Fish Liver Oil (138) is chiefly to be relied upon, with or without Lime Water and Milk (226), as an ordinary drink. As a preventive sponge the chest daily with diluted Vinegar (378). Mustard Poultices (247) or Croton Liniment (122) to the chest sometimes gives relief to the Cough and Difficulty of Breathing, as does the inhalation of the vapour of Hot Water (390) or Decoction of Abelmoschus (3). For the Diarrhœa, try the Alum Powders (26) or Sulphate of Copper (110). For the excessive Perspirations, sponge the chest with Vinegar (378). For the Sore Mouth or Fissures of the Tongue, apply Borax (55), or Alum (29). For Bleeding from the Lungs try some of the means mentioned in Hæmorrhage, Internal.
Convulsions in Adults, arising without evident cause.
Best treated by cold Affusion (386), Mustard Poultices (248), or Turpentine Stupes (363) to the feet and legs, and a strong purgative, as Croton Pills (120), Croton Oil (121), or Kaladana (187). If the patient be unable to swallow, a Turpentine enema (364) may be used. When the Convulsions are due to poisons, &c., taken into the stomach, an emetic of Mustard (246) or Sulphate of Copper (117) should precede all other measures. In the Convulsions of Labour, Turpentine Stupes (363) or Mustard Poultices (248) should be applied to the extremities, and Evaporating Lotion (380) to the head, whilst Camphor and Calomel Pills (73), or Borax and Cinnamon (58), are given internally. A Turpentine enema (364) may also prove useful. The Convulsions of Children are best treated with a Hot Bath (387), and a full dose of Castor Oil (83), preceded by one or two grains of Calomel when at hand, or a dose or two of Asafœtida Mixture (36). In the Convulsions of Infancy and Childhood, especially when the cause is obscure, unconnected with teething, &c., Bromide of Potassium is often more serviceable than any other remedy, in doses of a quarter of a grain for a child under six weeks of age, half a grain under three months, one grain above that age to nine months, and one grain additional for every year up to three or four years of age. And these doses may be safely repeated every two, three, or four hours until the convulsions subside. The smaller doses may be obtained with exactitude by dissolving, say, one grain of the Bromide in four teaspoonfuls of water, and giving one, two, or three spoonfuls, or the whole quantity, as one quarter, one half, one third, or one grain respectively is required. It is worthy of a fair trial in all cases which resist ordinary means, but should not be used to the exclusion of the hot bath and careful regulation of the bowels. When the child is very much exhausted, a few drops of Brandy, three to six, or more, according to age, are often most useful. Convulsions of early childhood are frequently connected with teething, hence lancing the gums is often of essential benefit.
N.B.—Convulsions and nervous affections occurring in Natives and Anglo-Indians are very frequently due to the presence of worms in the intestines; their existence may perhaps be unsuspected, or even denied; hence in all cases which resist ordinary treatment, it is advisable to give a trial to one or more of the remedies recommended for Worms, especially those for the Lumbricus or Round Worm, which is so extensively prevalent in India.
Corns.
Best treated by immersion in hot soap and water, paring off the hardened cuticle and wearing a piece of thick plaster, with or without a hole in the centre, to ward off the pressure and friction. For Corns between the Toes nothing is more effectual than a piece of thick blotting-paper worn so as to protect the opposing surface: it should be renewed daily. If only ordinary thin blotting-paper be available, two folds are advisable.